1,720,967 research outputs found
Towards improving rural water supply and sanitation coverage in Caprivi, North-east Namibia
Get PDFImproving access to clean drinking water has been a major development goal of the Government of Namibia since independence. In particular, efforts were made to ensure that access to clean water for women and children who carry the responsibility of household maintenance and water provision in homesteads is improved. Women and children constitute a major part of the rural population and have traditionally relied on open water sources. By improving the supply of clean quality water, health risks can be reduced. This paper examines the progress done by the Government of Namibia in improving access to rural water supply through a case study of Caprivi region. A mixed methods approach is used. The results show that major improvements in rural water supply have been made, however this has not resulted in reduction of waterborne diseases
Can adoption of ICTs in schools assist in the war against poverty and underdevelopment in Namibia?
No full textThe print journal is available at the University of Namibia Library (Main Campus); Call no: SCP 370.96881 NERThis article is part of a large study that investigates the issue of ICT and innovation adoption in Namibian schools. The main aim is not only to bring into focus the convegence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for development and education, but also to highlight some of the major barriers to sucessful ICTs integration by schools. On the basis of a critical review of literature, claims about the role of ICTs in education are discussed and the synergies concerning ICTs for development interventions that can be identified are discussed. With the advent of ICTs, many people have claimed that ICTs have a pivotal role in development. Indeed, these tools are useful for different applications. However, there are certain factors that can prevent a country from utilising ICTs even if the devices and technologies exist. The challenges of considering educational institutions as development players and their preparedness to actually ‘throw decisive blows’ on poverty are emphaised and a conceptual framework encompasing critical success factors is mapped out. Reference is made to Namibian situation
Towards improving rural water supply and sanitation coverage in Caprivi, North-east Namibia
No full textImproving access to clean drinking water has been a major development goal of the
Government of Namibia since independence. In particular, efforts were made to ensure that access to clean water for women and children who carry the responsibility of household maintenance and water provision in homesteads is improved. Women and children constitute a major part of the rural population and have traditionally relied on open water sources. By improving the supply of clean quality water, health risks can be reduced. This paper examines the progress done by the Government of Namibia in improving access to rural water supply through a case study of Caprivi region. A mixed methods approach is used. The results show that major improvements in rural water supply have been made, however this has not resulted in reduction of waterborne diseases
Could China’s journey of malaria elimination extend to Africa?
No full textWorld Health Organization (WHO) certified China malaria-free on June 30, 2021, which brightens the goal of global malaria elimination efforts. China contributed its unique innovations to the global community: Artemisinin, discovered by Tu Youyou, has saved millions of lives globally; the “1-3-7” norm developed in 2012, has been adapted in the local contexts of countries in the Southeast Asia and Africa. How to the targets of Global Technical Strategy for Malaria (GTS) 2016−2030. By looking into the malaria control phase, towards elimination phase from 1960 to 2011 in sub Saharan Africa and China, we found that the gap in malaria burden will widen unless the interventions in Africa are enhanced. It is imperative to identify the key China–Africa cooperation areas on malaria control and elimination, so
that synergized efforts could be pooled together to help African countries achieve the elimination goal. The practices from China malaria control and elimination efforts could be leveraged to fast-track malaria elimination efforts in Africa, which makes it possible that the China’s journey of malaria elimination extends to Africa
Reduction of location error in GPS collar tracking data of bovine cattle by using data screening
No full textGlobal Positioning System (GPS) telemetry enables tracking of an individual animal over a long period of time and can provide researches with accurate information on animal movement. However, various environmental factors influence the satellite signals received by a GPS collar, potentially deteriorating accuracy of position. We tracked Caprivi Sanga cattle using Televilt Tellus Basic GPS collars in North-East Namibia in 2006 and 2007. Locations obtained during the night, when the cattle are gathered inside livestock enclosures, revealed that a significant proportion of the locations are inaccurate. We used data of seven GPS collars for testing different data screening options as a way to reduce location error. Basic analysis showed that simple measures of accuracy like dilution of precision (DOP) and figure of merit (FOM) are not sufficient to remove erroneous locations from the data. We removed the inaccurate locations with the following condition: 2D location with DOP >6 or 01050 m or DOP ≥10 or FOM ≥10 or walking speed of the animal over 4.5 km/h. This data screening option eliminated 75% of the most erroneous locations (>300 m from the livestock enclosures) retaining 97.2% of
the locations correctly located inside the livestock enclosures. Before data screening, 95% (1372) of the night-time locations that were located outside the livestock enclosures were located 71-406 m from the enclosures. The maximum error was over 10 km. After data screening, 95% (485) of the locations were 54-298 m from the enclosures; the maximum error was 4.4 km
Reduction of location error in GPS collar tracking data of bovine cattle by using data screening
Get PDFGlobal Positioning System (GPS) telemetry enables tracking of an individual animal over a long period of time and can provide researches with accurate information on animal movement. However, various environmental factors influence the satellite signals received by a GPS collar, potentially deteriorating accuracy of position. We tracked Caprivi Sanga cattle using Televilt Tellus Basic GPS collars in North-East Namibia in 2006 and 2007. Locations obtained during the night, when the cattle are gathered inside livestock enclosures, revealed that a significant proportion of the locations are inaccurate. We used data of seven GPS collars for testing different data screening options as a way to reduce location error. Basic analysis showed that simple measures of accuracy like dilution of precision (DOP) and figure of merit (FOM) are not sufficient to remove erroneous locations from the data. We removed the inaccurate locations with the following condition: 2D location with DOP >6 or 0< altitude <850 m or altitude >1050 m or DOP ≥10 or FOM ≥10 or walking speed of the animal over 4.5 km/h. This data screening option eliminated 75% of the most erroneous locations (>300 m from the livestock enclosures) retaining 97.2% of the locations correctly located inside the livestock enclosures. Before data screening, 95% (1372) of the night-time locations that were located outside the livestock enclosures were located 71-406 m from the enclosures. The maximum error was over 10 km. After data screening, 95% (485) of the locations were 54-298 m from the enclosures; the maximum error was 4.4 km
Land use practices in Caprivi’s changing political environment
No full textThis paper presents an account of developments that led to present land use practices in the eastern parts of Caprivi and the eff ects these practices have on the ecosystem. In the pre-colonial period (–1890), the early inhabitants of east of the Kwando River were hunters and gatherers. Climatic and hydrological conditions enabled the fi rst Bantu communities to practice settled subsistence agriculture in the 18th and 19th centuries, a time when the Lozi and the Kololo kings ruled this area. Its location between perennial rivers made eastern parts of Caprivi good and easily defensible grazing area. Peripheral location and prevalence of malaria and cattle diseases made the area less tempting for European and South African farmers, but also made the colonial administration of east of the Kwando River diffi cult for Germany 1890–1915 and South Africa 1915–1990. The paper reviews published works and government documents, which is combined with fi eld observations and aerial photos of the area. In particular, our analysis focuses on Salambala conservancy because of its successes and many controversies. The analysis shows that indeed, enactments of law did not address land use in the manner that would have led to fulfi lment of the needs of subsistence farmers until Namibia’s independence in 1990. Nowadays, almost the whole area is still intensively used for small-scale subsistence farming and agricultural practices have remained traditional. The article describes the eff orts of previous administrations and outlines several factors that accounts for present-day land use practices. This account concludes that intensifi cation of grazing and clearin
Land use practices in Caprivi’s changing political environment
No full textThis paper presents an account of developments that led to present land use
practices in the eastern parts of Caprivi and the eff ects these practices have on
the ecosystem. In the pre-colonial period (–1890), the early inhabitants of east
of the Kwando River were hunters and gatherers. Climatic and hydrological
conditions enabled the fi rst Bantu communities to practice settled subsistence
agriculture in the 18th and 19th centuries, a time when the Lozi and the Kololo kings ruled this area. Its location between perennial rivers made eastern parts of Caprivi good and easily defensible grazing area. Peripheral location and prevalence
of malaria and cattle diseases made the area less tempting for European and South
African farmers, but also made the colonial administration of east of the Kwando
River diffi cult for Germany 1890–1915 and South Africa 1915–1990. The paper
reviews published works and government documents, which is combined with
fi eld observations and aerial photos of the area. In particular, our analysis focuses
on Salambala conservancy because of its successes and many controversies.
The analysis shows that indeed, enactments of law did not address land use in
the manner that would have led to fulfi lment of the needs of subsistence farmers
until Namibia’s independence in 1990. Nowadays, almost the whole area
is still intensively used for small-scale subsistence farming and agricultural
practices have remained traditional. The article describes the eff orts of previous
administrations and outlines several factors that accounts for present-day land
use practices. This account concludes that intensifi cation of grazing and clearin
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
